Pennsylvania Man Sentenced To Prison For Felony Injury To A Child

Bryan Taylor, Canyon County Prosecutor, announced today that Jeffery Byerly Jr., age 28, of Pennsylvania, was sentenced by the Honorable Bradly S. Ford for felony Injury to a Child.

Jeffery Byerly Jr.

Judge Ford sentenced Byerly Jr. to 3 ½ years fixed, followed by 6 ½ years indeterminate, for a total unified sentence of 10 years in prison. Judge Ford also ordered Byerly Jr. to submit a DNA sample to the Idaho database and have no contact with the victim or mother in the case. Byerly Jr. was also ordered pay a $5,000 civil penalty, $750 in fines and court costs, and $350 in reimbursement to his public defender.

Byerly Jr. was arrested on a felony warrant in June 2016 following an investigation by the Nampa Police Department revealed he had physically abused the 3-year-old child of the woman he was dating. The investigation showed that Byerly Jr. became upset at the child for finding a marijuana pipe, and as punishment, he struck the child multiple times with an open hand on both sides of the head. Byerly Jr. also admitted to swinging the child by his ankles like a pendulum, and at one point, bashing the child’s head on a dresser after losing his balance. Medical reports show the injuries caused the child’s head to swell so much that he was unable to open his eyes or see normally for 2 weeks. Test results later showed swelling of the brain and a loss of blood into the area between the scalp and the skull as a result of a detached scalp.

“This case is about the protection of society, and in particular, the protection of those who are the most vulnerable like innocent children,” said Deputy Prosecutor Erica Kallin. “This case sends the message that if you hurt a child, you go to prison. That if you put a child in the hospital, you will be held accountable.”